Willson’s dream of turning the neglected ship into a museum didn’t go as planned. In October 2023, he made the tough decision to sell it, and it began sinking seven months later, leaving its future in doubt.
“We loved that ship,” Willson told CNN Travel. “Selling it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
“It haunts me, and I lose sleep over it,” Willson admits.
His journey with the retired “pocket” cruise ship began when he saw it on Craigslist. Inspired, he bought it, striking a “really good deal” with the owner.
He later learned the ship, originally named Wappen von Hamburg, was built in 1955 by Blohm and Voss, Germany’s first major post-WWII passenger liner.
After purchasing it, Willson moved the ship to Rio Vista, California, renamed it Aurora, and spent his first night aboard.
“We were restoring the swimming pool, forward decks, and replating the steel,” Willson recalls. He estimates spending over $1 million on the renovations.
“We were making great progress,” he says, but local opposition grew, especially after the HMCS Chaleur sank in 2021. When a nearby tugboat sank in January, causing a pollution issue, things escalated. Authorities stepped in, and it became clear the Aurora couldn’t stay.
Moving the ship would have required $1 million in dredging, which made it impossible.
In May, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office announced the Aurora was sinking due to a hole, leaking diesel fuel and oil into the Delta Waterway.
Contractors refloated the ship, with the US Coast Guard confirming its recent change in ownership. Over several weeks, crews removed 21,675 gallons of oily water, 3,193 gallons of hazardous waste, and debris. No wildlife was harmed.
The City of Stockton has since taken charge. With no clear ownership, officials are now figuring out how to dispose of the vessel, hoping to remove it in the coming weeks.
